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SurF tHis SitE RaNdoMly

>> Thursday, November 5, 2015

Overall comment: Delicious, home-cooked style food at affordable prices. The ambiance is also relaxing, soothing & great to enjoy a cup of tea, coffee & a warm meal with family & friends.Halal: Pork-free

I've never really explored the Plaza Damansara area although it's not too far from my office. All I know about the place is that parking can be quite a headache...hahaha. Attending M Cafe's review recently during the evening was a pleasant surprise. Not only were their dishes delicious, but there's ample parking at the multi-storey car park right behind the cafe (I didn't know about that building as it's 'hidden'!) - you can park there during lunch hour for RM2.00/hour!

You won't find the name of the shop as M Cafe, but as Meesha Sukira, a batik gallery & boutique cum cafe. This batik boutique cafe was started 2 years ago in the year 2013 by 2 partners, one of them is Michelle & her Malay partner, Marina. Their batik business has been ongoing for 10 years now, well-known for their premium hand-drawn batik that's inspired by nature & influenced by culture. You can find out more about their batik here.

The cafe is an ideal place for private events as it could house up to 50 diners inside & 16 diners outside comfortably.

Upon arrival at the cafe, we were firstly introduced by their cafe manager + one of the partners of the cafe (Michelle's sister), Moriah, to their special teas! *I love tea*

Apple Cinnamon Honey Tea (RM8.90/hot serving or RM9.90/cold serving)

Moriah shared with us that she had the inspiration for this tea from her travels to the middle east not too long ago. It's a very warm, homey drink for those who love something aromatic (cinnamon) yet fresh (green apples). It's not too sweet too as it's perfectly sweetened with pure honey :)

Generously loaded with 3 sticks of cinnamon & 2-3 slices of green apples, yet not over-powering. The tea base is just our Malaysian Boh tea! It was a truly lovely tea to enjoy.

Pink French Rose Tea (RM15.90/serving)

Say bye-bye to chamomile tea as the pink french rose tea felt more like a relaxant than the chamomile! It's quite a girls' tea though, so guys, if you go for this tea, you'll probably think "Oh, this is SO Lovely Lace!"

Honey Lemongrass Tea (RM8.90/hot serving or RM9.90/cold serving)

Feeling bloated or need something that soothes your tired body & probably cleanse your palatte as well? This is the tea for you!

Calamansi Soda (RM8.90/serving)

Those who like a fizzy thirst-quencher can go for this: the sour plum was slightly over-powering & covered the taste of the calamansi, but we've provided our feedback to Moriah during the review, so hopefully she will have the kitchen staff reduce the sour plum.

Ice-Blended Lime (RM12.90/serving)

It was kinda deja vu...the taste may be very, very familiar 'til you realize that this drink tastes like the Nestle's Lime + Cream ice popsicle, Tropicana! It's certainly an ice-blended that brings back fond childhood memories :)

Ice-Blended Coffee (RM12.90/serving)

I didn't order this, so I'm not sure how this tastes, but I didn't hear any complaints from Alvin who ordered it.

Okay, you must be getting impatient with me as I've been elaborating a 'lil too much on the drinks :P Now to the food that we reviewed...

Fried Chicken Salted Egg + White Rice (RM15.90/set)

This was my favorite! They totally nailed this dish; the chicken pieces were fried 'til golden brown & crispy, yet retaining the moisture in the chicken meat, & the salted egg yolks were generously covering each piece of chicken. The spicy sambal gives the simple Chinese-style dish a 'kick' (very yummy), so you must try that too. The entire set would be even better if the rice was more 'fluffy' & fragrant (I think they use normal rice instead of Thai fragrant rice). During lunch hour, the set comes with a complimentary ice rose syrup/plain water.

Hainanese Chicken Chop (RM15.90/set)

I've gotta say that their Hainanese Chicken Chop was pretty delicious. The gravy could be slightly thicker & more generous, but they're quite experts in frying chicken *lol* Crispy wei! What's not to love when it comes to fried chicken? As long as the chicken piece isn't dripping in oil, has crispy yet juicy skin & tender, fresh meat, I'll be a happy tiger :P The sides were pleasing as well, & oh, the peas were soft! :) I hate peas served at most eateries as they're usually frozen peas that aren't thawed properly, giving it a dry & hard texture *euuw*

Nasi Lemak with Crispy Fried Chicken (RM15.90/set)

Fragrant coconut rice, aromatic marinated fried whole chicken leg & a side of cooked-with-love sambal by a 70 year old lady all served on the same plate. What's not to love about this dish? Our only complain when we went there during lunch hour few days ago was that the sambal portion was really miserable (only a tablespoonful on a sauce plate). To ask for more sambal costs RM0.50 extra & that too didn't come in a generous portion but another sauce plate size :(

Sambal Fish Fried Rice (RM15.90/serving)

Inspired by her trip to Sarawak with the orang asal who hosted her, Moriah brought this idea back to M Cafe to serve her customers. It's actually kembung fish fried with the sambal & rice, topped with a bull's eye fried egg. A very simple & traditional east Malaysia sort of dish, which was quite delicious :) I was telling Moriah that it would be a more enjoyable with a side of fresh, tangy, aromatic salad with probably some kaffir lime leaves & lime juice?

Nyonya Curry Laksa (RM16.90/serving)

A very interesting type of laksa as I rarely find this type of laksa at cafes. The broth/soup is thicker & the taste of herbs & spices is more apparent compared to the usual curry laksa & asam laksa. It's a huge bowl of bee hoon though, so you'll have to eat up quickly before the noodles soak up the bulk of the soup.

Clear Soup Pan Mee with Minced Chicken (RM14.90/set)

Unfortunately, as an avid pan mee fan (like REALLY avid fan), this was my least favorite dish for the evening :( I was quite disappointed, really. To me, the most important part for a good bowl of pan mee is the texture of the noodles. The issue I had with the texture of pan mee noodles here is that it was stiff, dry (still kinda smooth) & not the usual chewy yet soft & smooth pan mee noodles. I find the reason being: they added eggs to the noodles, which was what I felt gave the noodles a very different texture.

The soup base had an intense anchovies flavor, which was satisfying, but the noodles disappointed me. Perhaps it's a personal preference cos one of the bloggers actually liked this version.

Those were all that we tried for that evening & we were stuffed. So much rice for a night! Hahaha...

We explored the boutique as well, which was quite an interesting discovery :) You'll find clothes, purses, shoes & more - everything batik!

They're having sales at the moment, so you'll find items going at 50% off original price.

My colleagues & I have been to the cafe twice after the review & so far, our only complain was the sambal serving for the nasi lemak. I've yet to try out their other dishes on the menu (loads of dishes!), so I'll be back for more :)

@Henry Lee: Many people ask this question as well. I think it's not too bad since the clothes are upstairs, while the food is downstairs. Besides, the kitchen is enclosed, so most of the food smell doesn't get to the dining area ;)

Disclaimer: Reviews written are based solely on my personal opinion. I am not affiliated with any companies/restaurants and will not be responsible for any disappointments that occur. No part of this site or any of the content contained herein may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior permission from the publisher.